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Friday, July 17, 2009

Priština sees profit hike

Priština Airport

Priština Airport saw significant rise in earnings in the first half of 2009 despite the global economic downturn. The airport's executives said the net-earnings amounted to 3.5 million Euros in the first six months this year, up 8% from a year ago. The management of Priština Airport described the year of 2008 as a "golden year" given the fact that net-earnings hit 7 million Euros and the number of passengers exceeded 1 million. The number of flights rose nearly 17% in the first six months of 2009. In 2008, the number of flight stood at 2.105, while this year the number of flights stands at 2.454. Prištoina also saw a 4% increase in the number of passengers compared with the same period in 2008. Airport executives said Priština was able to hold its ground well in one of the worst economic crisis ever. The airport expects good results during the summer season as well as in the second half of 2009.

The year could get better for the airport after Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest airline, announced its wishes to become a prime carrier of Kosovo. It will start off by introducing 10 weekly flights between Priština and Zurich. The date of the new flights is yet to be set. The disputed province has no prime airline and all attempts to create one have failed in the past. The Albanian Belle Air is the leading airline flying out of Priština.

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LIVERY OF THE WEEK

Cyprus Airways

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Cyprus Airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus A319 aircraft since Charlie Airlines won the right to work under the Cyprus name in July 2016. The carrier's corporate design elements were created by the British agency Landor. The pastel shades were chosen for the livery to replicate the various colours of the Mediterranean Sea surrounding the island. The olive branch, the main symbol of Cyprus that can also be found on the national flag of the republic, is depicted on the tail unit and engine nacelles of the plane. The former mouflon logo used by Cyprus Airways is still featured on the aircraft, next to the plane's front exit

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

No survivors in PIA crash

All 48 people onboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it crashed into a mountain in northern Pakistan on Wednesday. Flight PK661 from Chitral to Islamabad crashed at 16:42 (4.42pm) local time about 70km north of Islamabad. The airline said there were no survivors. The plane, an ATR 42-500, was carrying 42 passengers, five crew members and one engineer, according to the airline. Forty-five were Pakistani citizens, two were Austrians and one Chinese. A Pakistani ex-pop star, turned Muslim preacher, Junaid Jamshed and Deputy Commissioner for Chitral District Osama Ahmed Warraich were reported to be on the flight. Very few of the bodies could be identified visually, with most burned beyond recognition, officials said. Recovery efforts continued into the night to remove body parts. A government official said that witness reports indicated that the aircraft was on fire before it hit the ground. Other reports suggested the ATR had suffered engine problems immediately prior to the crash. An investigation is ongoing, but the carrier has insisted strict checks left "no room for any technical error". "I want to make it clear that it was a perfectly sound aircraft", PIA Chairman, Muhammad Azam Saigol, said. "I think there was no technical error or human error". Plane crashes are not uncommon in Pakistan, but the last major crash involving a PIA aircraft was in 2006, in which 44 people died.